SY Naiade made a bold comeback at Palma Superyacht Show

SUPERYACHTS IN LONDON

By now almost everybody in yachting (and probably Europe) has seen the iconic images of Motor Yacht A tied up next to HMS Belfast in the City of London- but isn’t it just so great when superyachts turn up in the middle of our lunch-breaks and divert our attention from all of the centuries-old architecture around us?! We think so.

Here’s a quick look back at when superyachts in London kept-calm and brought the City to a standstill!

#1. KISMET

KISMET is a 94m Lurssen-built yacht and was seen cruising upriver in 2014- just in time for her owner to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars (his favourite NFL team) play at Wembley.

This event was so exciting for this particular billionaire, that midway through the yacht’s stay in the British capital a large silver Jaguar with its paw resting on a football helmet was attached to the bow by crewmembers- and has remained ever since.

#2. SHEMARA

Restored 1938 classic yacht Shemara visited London in June 2015 following her extensive refit. Sir Charles Dunstone her owner bought her up the thames and had her moored up beside HMS president.

Shemara’s story is pretty interesting if you’re a fan of classic yachts- aside from her history of hosting shady characters, the story of how the interior was salvaged and painstakingly bought up to date by StudioIlsa is a fascinating one.

#3. OCTOPUS

In 2012 the world’s eyes were on London- the Olympics were in town. Aside from the sporting greatness taking place in Stratford, superyachts in London commanded considerable attention moored at Canary Wharf. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s 414-foot Octopus was one of the largest to be seen there, along with Westfield group founder Frank Lowy’s 74-meter Ilona.

#4. KAMALAYA

Kamalaya arrived at West India Dock in 2014 and by all accounts settled into party mode, under the shadow of the iconic Millennium Dome. Designed by Tim Heywood, she is a 55m Amels which accommodates 12 guests over 6 cabins. Amenities include a Helicopter Landing Pad, Tender Garage, Swimming Platform and Touch-n-Go Helipad

#5. A

We couldn’t miss her out! Probably one of the most high-profile yachts to ever visit London, Motor Yacht A had everyone gawping. After spending a few days in London, oligarch Andrey Melnichenko and travelled onto Brighton. Unfortunately though he was forced to leave his giant superyacht at anchor there– as it was too big to fit inside the marina!

Visiting Palma Superyacht Show last week, it was a pleasant surprise to find the 34.34m SY Naiade on the dock, listed for sale with Fraser.

Following an 18-month rebuild, this sailing superyacht is now, literally, a more advanced yacht than when she was first launched.

In 2014, a motor yacht lost control in Acapulco Marina and careered into the port side of her hull. The initial survey reported a resultant crack in the hull and the decision was made to repair the damage in the Med.

On arrival in Palma, the engine room was disassembled and BM Composites were engaged to make the repair. However, with the engine room cleared, further cracks in the main structure of the boat, affecting the keel structure itself, were discovered.

Nautor Swan released the original construction drawings and the yacht was reengineered by Gurit. The engine room was completely gutted and the bottom of the hull was removed, where the first, second and third longitudinal girders were all broken.

The original mold was sourced and Nautor Swan provided the section needed to enable BM Composites to rebuild the hull.

The boat rebuild resulted in an excess of €3million spent and in addition to the structural repairs, a full refit was carried out to include the engine and generators, with all machinery replaced or refurbished, new decks, IT/AV systems, new sails, rod rigging and full hull repaint.

Listing Broker, Georges Bourgoignie of Fraser commented; “Naiade represents a superb opportunity to own one of the world’s highest- pedigree semi-production sailing yachts with guaranteed performance owing to here German Frers design. Having seen limited use in her life before the incident that resulted in her total rebuild at the STP Shipyard in Palma, she is now a virtually new yacht in terms of her systems, structure, and cosmetics, at 25% of the replacement cost.”